Realistic expenses (P3)

I. Pre-reading 

Discuss the following questions with your partner.

A new term has begun. How much are your tuition fees? 

How much are your monthly living expenses?

Do you think that the total cost of attending school has increased or decreased over the years? 

II. Reading 

Read the article and choose the best answer for each of the following questions.

1. What is the author’s main purpose in writing the article? 

A. To inform the reader of the hidden costs of higher education.

B. To report on a study of the rising costs of higher education.

C. To give students tips on how to deal with the rising costs of higher education.

D. To analyze the reasons for a greater demand for higher education in the US.

2. According to a study by Wisconsin HOPE Lab, ____.

A. $3,000 could cover the total cost of attending most colleges in the US

B. living in the suburbs could help US students reduce the cost of attending college

C. students tend to find that they have to spend more when they arrive on campus 

D. inflation is the leading cause of rising costs in higher education in the US

3. What is the main reason why colleges may want to overestimate living expenses?

A. To include all possible hidden costs of attending college.

B. To make families set aside enough money for college.

C. To help students get enough government financial aid.

D. To inspire students to work hard to get scholarships.

4. What does Hosch advise students to do before going to college?

A. Do some part-time jobs to pay for college. 

B. Choose colleges where living expenses are lower.

C. Stay optimistic despite the rising costs of higher education.

D. Try to get help from the college they’re planning to go to. 

Key: 

1. B。本文主要报道了Wisconsin HOPE Lab关于美国高校费用增加的研究，所以答案为B。

2. C。由第四段的“And they may not even realize some of the hidden costs until they arrive on campus.”可以推知C为正确答案。由第二段的“one-third of colleges in the US advertise that families and prospective students need to budget at least $3,000 for the cost of attendance. But the bottom line isn’t realistic.”可知A项不对；由第六段的“Living in the suburbs (郊区) of Boston equals thousands of dollars spent on cars to get into the city”可知Ｃ项不对，文中没有提到导致上学费用大幅上升的主要原因，所以 D项不对。

3. C。由倒数第三段“Colleges may want to overestimate living expenses in order for students to get enough government financial aid”可知C为正确答案。

4. D。由最后一段可知Ｄ为正确答案。

III. Language study

1. But the bottom line isn’t realistic.

the bottom line: the most important fact in a situation 重要因素, 关键的东西

eg: The bottom line is that we need another ten thousand dollars to complete the project. 基本问题是我们还需要一万美元来完成这个项目。

2. Still, these discoveries shouldn’t make teenagers shy away from higher education.

shy away from: avoid something that you dislike, fear or do not feel confident about（因不喜欢、害怕或缺乏自信而）退缩，躲避，畏避

eg: I've never shied away from hard work. 我从未畏避过艰苦的工作。

Editing humans’ DNA (P5)

I. Pre-reading 

Discuss the following questions with your partner.

If you could change your child’s DNA in the future to protect him or her against diseases, would you? Why or why not?

II. Reading 

Read the article and choose the best answer for each of the following questions.

1. What is the article mainly about?

A. How CRISPR was developed by scientists.

B. What we can and can’t do with CRISPR.

C. The advantages of CRISPR and arguments about its ethics. 

D. Chinese scientists’ experiment of using CRISPR to edit human embryos.

2. It can be concluded from the article that CRISPR ____.

A. allows scientists to edit genomes for the first time 

B. could be helpful in the treatment of cancer and HIV 

C. is a technology that uses an enzyme to work on RNA and DNA

D. has proven to be the most effective way to protect children against diseases

3. According to the article, the technology of CRISPR ____.

A. is very safe because it only cuts the DNA it is looking for

B. is banned in 42 countries and restricted in many others 

C. could cause parents to make unwise choices for their children 

D. could help us discover the link between DNA and the qualities it gives people

4. What is the author’s attitude toward CRISPR?

A. Supportive.B. Worried.C. Negative.D. Objective.

Key:

1. C。本文主要讲的是CRISPR的优势以及关于它可能会带来的伦理问题的争议，所以答案为C。

2. B。由第三段的“The uses of CRISPR could mean that therapies (疗法) are developed for everything from Alzheimer’s to cancer to HIV.”可以推知B为正确答案。由第二段的“There are other ways of editing DNA, but CRISPR will do it very simply, quickly, and exactly.”可知A项的“for the first time”不对；Ｃ项的“work on RNA and DNA”不对，应该是DNA；D项还没有得到证实，所以错误。

3. C。由倒数第二段可知C为正确答案。由第五段的“As well as cutting the DNA it is looking for, it often cuts other DNA, too. In addition, we currently seem to have too little understanding of what DNA gives people what qualities.”可知A、D不对；由倒数第三段“A harder question is whether it is ever right to edit human germ-line (种系) cells and make changes that are passed on to children. This is banned (禁止) in 40 countries and restricted (限制) in many others.”可知B不对。

4. D。全文中作者客观分析了CRISPR的优点和可能带来的问题，所以答案为D。

III. Post-reading

Fill in the blanks with the proper words according to the article.

An introduction to CRISPR technology 

Features of CRISPR CRISPR involves a piece of RNA, a chemical messenger, designed to work on one part of 1. _____.  

It also uses an enzyme that can take 2. _____ genes out and put new ones in.

3. _____ of using CRISPRCRISPR will edit DNA more simply, quickly and 4. _____ than other ways of doing it.

The uses of CRISPR could mean that 5. _____ are developed for everything from Alzheimer’s to cancer to HIV. 

Questions about CRISPR’s 6. _____CRISPR doesn’t work 7. _____ yet. As well as cutting the DNA it is looking for, it often cuts other DNA, too.

There are also moral questions around “playing God”.

A harder question is whether it is ever right to edit human germ-line cells and make 8. _____ that are passed on to children.

Gene editing may mean that parents make choices that are not obviously in the best 9. _____ of their children.

Craig Mello’s opinion of CRISPRMore 10. _____ is still needed to see what we can and can’t do with CRISPR.

Key:

1. DNA 2. unwanted    3. Advantages 4. exactly   5. therapies

6. ethics7. properly8. changes     9. interests  10. research

My garden fight (P6)

I. Pre-reading 

Discuss the following questions with your partner.

Have you ever done any gardening?

What do you think is the hardest part of gardening?

II. Reading 

Read the article and choose the best answer for each of the following questions.

1. What is the story mainly about?

A. The author’s fight with weeds.

B. How the author loved her yard.

C. The author’s gardening skills.

D. The author’s gardening friend. 

2. What is the meaning of the third paragraph?

A. Spring is the best time in which to kill weeds.

B. Spring makes it hard for the author to win her battle with weeds.

C. Spring’s heat helps weeds to win some of the battlefield.

D. In the spring, the author tries to help the plants not to suffer from too much rain. 

3. Why does the writer say her fingers were itching like crazy in Paragraph 8?

A. The writer was mad at her brother’s response. 

B. The writer longed to cut down the ivy.

C. The writer was bitten by some insects in the weeds.

D. The writer left something in her car and wanted to get it back.

4. What can we learn from the text?

A. The author has decided to battle with the weeds next year.

B. The author is exhausted by the battle and has finally given up.

C. The author enjoys the battle with the weeds and expects another fight.

D. The author does not want to kill all the weeds since they are also helpful.

Key: 

1. A。本文主要讲的是作者与院子里的藤蔓杂草的战争，故选A。

2. B。第三段主要谈到了春天的雨水使得作者对抗杂草藤蔓的战争更为艰难，所以答案为B。

3. B。这里作者用手痒得厉害来表述自己内心极其想把那些藤蔓砍掉的冲动，故选B。

4. A。由最后一段可以推知A为正确答案，作者决定今年暂时休战，明年继续这场战斗。

III. Language study

本文作者文笔非常细腻，运用拟人和比喻的修辞手法，讲述了自己与花园中的杂草藤蔓之间展开的持久战斗。在作者笔下，花园成了战场，杂草藤蔓成了顽强难以对付的敌人，虽然作者最终暂时休战了，但整个战斗过程生动有趣。例如： 

 I’m sure I can hear ... I swear they’re all snickering, too. They don’t even have the manners to wait until I leave there.

此处作者运用拟人手法，把静止的杂草藤蔓描述成一群无礼的侵犯者，它们悄然溜进花园，得意地偷笑，甚至连等到作者离开再偷笑的礼貌都没有。

 My old wheelbarrow seems to have the personality of a tank, and I’m pretty sure my trowel is second cousin to a dagger.

这句话作者运用了比喻和拟人的修辞手法，把自己和杂草之间的这场战争描绘得栩栩如生。在她笔下，她做园艺的工具都富有战斗力，独轮手推车具有坦克的个性，而小铲子则是匕首的堂兄。

My fingers were itching like crazy.

短语like crazy的意思是“发疯似地，非常”。为了形容自己极其想把那些藤蔓砍掉，作者将抽象的情感用一种具体的感受表达出来，用手痒得厉害来表述自己内心强烈的冲动。